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QNEWS APRIL 06 2025 - VK4 ON AIR

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DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK?
DARLING DOWNS DID and they promoted REDCLIFFE

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THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE
Available in Audio RIGHT NOW

QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on
www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/
180.150.53.59/wianews/
QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from
www.wiaq.org.au

Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS)
in your podcast.



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VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024

SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY

VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz)
VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz)
X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz)
VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp)
VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz)
VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra)
VK4NL NOEL DESJARDINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp)
VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit)
VK4NOE FRED WHITE 29/01/25 (vk4eht)

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DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB

vk4wid@...

Hi, I'm John VK4JPM Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and this is
QNEWS for Sunday 6th of April. We didn't pull any April Fools pranks this
year, but someone did a great job of promoting a small nuclear reactor
claiming that it was available at a certain national electronics chain.
Batteries not included, but I've put a link in the text version of this
news:

facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=1066457412185085&id=100064625084926

Quick reminder that next weekend is busy for club members and guests. If
you're on our mailing list - which would include members of course - in
the last few days you should have received by email a newsletter
containing lots of important info about upcoming events and club
activities.

If you didn't, then you might not be on our list. You don't have to be a
club member to stay in touch: just drop us a line to
secretary@... and we'll put you on the list. No obligation. And
if you didn't get the email, here's a quick summary of next weekend.

On Saturday morning 12 April, a group of us will be attending Redfest.
Come up and say hi if you see us - we'll be the people with bright yellow
badges.

On Sunday 13 April, we're holding our bimonthly club lunch at the Withcott
Hotel. That's a relaxed opportunity to catch up friends you've never met,
and yes: there are food items that come with ham. Guests, non-members,
significant others and harmonics are welcome. Check the menu and
location details from our home page at www.ddrci.org.au

While you're there, you'll also find the invitation for our club meeting
on Monday 14 April. We're at the Toowoomba Library for this one, from
1900. Come and enjoy a cuppa and a tim-tam while Cam VK4CSS explains all
about RADAR and LiDAR, and how they can be used separately or together to
find out where things are. Cam will discuss the strengths and weaknesses
of both technologies, and explain when it's good to not trust either...
with the suggestion that autonomous vehicle have many layers of
protection, but speed traps might be less robust. It's all info that you
need, and you get to ask questions.

We're hoping that we will be able to bring this meeting to those of you
who are a bit unable to travel to be with us live. Check the website for
details of how to connect remotely... if we can do it, we will.

Finally look for some construction articles from Bruce VK4MQ, and start
planning to join us for the Annual Foxhunt and BBQ in May... it's only
four weeks away now.

If you missed any of this, then you can download QNEWS text or audio files
via the WIA website, or with links from the DDRCi home page. And it's
always OK to drop a line to secretary@... or use the contact form
from the website.

Until next week - 73s from all of us here in Toowoomba - I'm John VK4JPM,
Darling Downs Club Secretary, and I'm looking forward to saying hi in
person to you next weekend!

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But wait - there's more!

Did you know that the Darling Downs Radio Club has a special Garden City
Award for contact with Club members? It's not hard to qualify: for
instance, as few as three contacts with the club station VK4WID would get
you across the line. The award comes as an attractive certificate and
would look great on any shack wall. Check the website at
ddrci.org.au/awards/ for details of how to qualify and receive the award.

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Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking.

It is interesting to reflect on how attitudes change and the way attention to
details vary. It was during this last week that I set about on acquainting
myself
with certain radios, the availability and, of course, how big of hole they
would put
in the pocket.

What made me consider the changes is the memory of how we were all looking
for ways
to maximise our web site’s notice ability. Even during some classes of higher
learning included practices in web design and choosing the right wording
and layout
to attract the search worms from those amazing applications, the search
engines.

Although I had that tiny bit of training, I have never sought to have a
page of my
own and like the rest of us with internet access, I have been a consistent
and
regular user of the search engines included or added to my web browser.

After this week, I can’t draw a conclusion as to how the market for
amateur radio
gear is working in VK-land. I have conducted multiple searches and used
different
search strings in different search engines and my success in finding
details of
authorised agents and resellers for what have been the major marques has
been poor.

Not only that, when trying to establish whether certain products are
available off
the shelf, some sites tell me everything other than the availability. I
have to
wonder whether the retail sector is too busy or not clued in to the value of
suitable internet marketing as limiting the potential customer getting all
the
needed information. Or is this a sign that the notoriously low profit
margins for
our beloved gear has just drained the enthusiasm from those prepared to
invest time
and large amounts of money?

I like using local vendors where possible but like so many of us, these
days, we get
some joy from the cheaper small purchases from overseas. Sometimes the
products are
as good as our local retailer has on the display, sometimes better and
often worse
and sometimes the products can only be obtained from overseas.

Currently I am awaiting delivery of parts from both overseas and locally.
Since
Australia Post changed domestic deliveries to a 3 day, 2 day, a week,
alternating
pattern, ostensibly to maximise the parcel delivery service they have let
the small
items, the packet mail service fall into the doldrums.

Then there is one notable commercial competitor in the freight delivery
business
that seems to work in a way that makes Auspost seem speedy. It really
makes a person
wonder if there is a conspiracy to close down the small businesses which
operate
on-line. Maybe the lucrative contracts for the mega on-line retailers are
the goal
as we customers seem to get less and less choice in the matter.

We can hope that the weather improves and services return to normal.


I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that’s what I think….
how about you?

(vk4zpp@...)


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Social Scene


VK4 - Redcliffe & Districts Radio Club REDFEST April 12 at
Deception Bay North State School. (wiacal)

VK - WIA AGM May 3 - 4. Hosted by Bendigo Amateur Radio & Electronics
Club and their Technology Expo (vk3gtv/wiacal)

VK - Australian Ladies Amateur Radio Association 50th anniversary
Glen Waverly July 26 president@... (vk2ayl)

VK4 - GOLD COAST AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY – 2025 HAMFEST NOV 9 (vk4dmh)
Country Paradise Parklands 231 Beaudesert Nerang Road.




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